Meetings of Heads of the Departments of Economics (8)

MEETINGS OF THE HEADS OF  DEPARTMENTS OF
ECONOMICS AND ISLAMIC ECONOMICS IN
THE UNIVERSITIES OF THE KINGDOM OF
SAUDI ARABIA
______________________________________________

Eighth Meeting 14-15/11/1427H 05-06/12/2006G

The subject of the meeting: Teaching two courses in Finance and Insurance from an Islamic Perspective.

Objectives of the Meeting:

1. To emphasize the importance of lending support to the efforts exerted to teach all economic subjects from an Islamic perspective.

2. To follow up on enhancing and developing courses in Islamic Economics.

3. To exchange experience among departments of economics, especially in the field related to preparation of syllabuses and teaching courses in Islamic Economics approved courses.

4. To encourage teaching staff in the departments of economics to have an idea about the relevant Islamic and Fiqh-related concepts which relate to the economic subjects they teach.

Themes and Subjects of the Meeting: Exchange experience and detailed syllabuses in the Teaching of Finance and Insurance from an Islamic Perspective.

Programme of the Meeting:

1. Visit to the Center

2. Opening

3. A brief historical account of the Center and Meetings of Heads of Departments.

4. First Working Session: Presentation and discussion of the paper submitted on Teaching Finance from an Islamic Perspective.

5. Listen to the interventions and comments of participants.

6. Second Working Session: Presentation and discussion of the paper submitted on Teaching Insurance from an Islamic Perspective.

7. Listen to the interventions and comments of participants.

Recommendations of the 8th Meeting of Heads of Departments:

With the grace of the Almighty, the 8^th Meeting of the Heads of Economics and Islamic Economics Departments in the Universities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was held in the Center by an invitation from the Islamic Economics Research Center, College of Economics and Management Sciences, King Abdul Aziz University, during the period 14-15/11/1427H.

The Meeting was opened by Dr. Ahmad Bin Hamid Naqqadi, Dean of the College of Economics and Management Sciences, on behalf of H.E. Dr. Usamah Bin Sadiq Tayyeb. The Director of the Center, Dr. Abdullah Qurban Turkistani, introduced to the audience a brief idea about the Center and its activities.

Proceedings of the Meeting were as follows:

First Working Session: Presentation of the Teaching Memorandum on Financing of Companies from an Islamic Perspective, by Dr. Mohammad Obeidullah. The session was chaired by Dr. Ali Hussein Qadah, Deputy Director of the Center for Curricula Development.

Second Working Session: Presentation of the Teaching Memorandum on Insurance from an Islamic Perspective, by Dr. Mohammad Sa'dou Al Jarf. The session was chaired by Dr. Essam Mohammad Habis, Deputy Director of the Center.

The participants in the meeting emphasized the importance of the two Teaching Memoranda and of encouraging research and teaching of their subject areas from a perspective grounded on modern technical know-how and knowledge of relevant Shari'ah concepts and Ahkam (Legal Pronouncements or Verdicts). The participants concluded with the following recommendations:

First: To send a letter of thanks in the name of participants in the meeting to the H.E. the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Usamah Bin Sadiq Tayyeb for his kind patronage of this meeting and his support to its activities.

Second: To send a letter of thanks to:

-  Dean of the College of Economics and Management Sciences, Dr. Ahmed Naqqadi, for inaugurating the meeting on behalf of H.E. Chancellor of the University, as well as for his support and patronage of the meeting.

-  The Director of the Islamic Economics Research Center, Dr. Abdullah Qurban Turkistani, for the excellent arrangements and hospitality accorded to participants, as well as to all those  who contributed their efforts to the excellent preparation and organization of the meeting.

-  Dr. Mohammad Obeidullah and Dr. Mohammad Sa'dou Al Jart for preparing the two teaching memoranda discussed in the meeting.

Third: Bridging the deficiency in, and completion of the Shari'ah aspect in the "Memorandum on Financing Companies from an Islamic Perspective", effecting those necessary modifications to the material presented according to the notes and comments of the participants.

Fourth: Introduce modes of financing and investment in the Introduction of the Memorandum and explain those points that need more explanation and elaboration in the Memorandum and to develop it into a textbook for the teaching of Islamic finance at two levels: a basic one for undergraduate students and an advanced level for postgraduate students within a maximum period of two years from the date of this meeting. Once the textbook has been published, copies should be sent to all Economics Departments participating in this meeting.

Fifth: Propose to the Center conducting training courses in the area of Islamic Finance and Banking and Insurance, similar to those the Center is providing in Islamic Economics.

Sixth: The Center should be keen on inviting financial institutions in the private sector relevant to the teaching memoranda prepared by the Center for participation in these meetings in the future.

Seventh: Request the Center to invite Colleges of Economics, Management Sciences, Finance and Fiqh in the universities of the Kingdom to study the possibility of including conventional and Islamic insurance as part of their compulsory courses in the relevant science departments.

Eighth: Call upon the Center to prepare a textbook in Insurance from a conventional and an Islamic perspective and to consider the possibility of making the Memorandum presented a nucleus for the vocabulary of such textbook and to benefit from the applied studies made on insurance companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.